Music show commemorates Abdul Jabbar

Indromohan Rajbangshi speaks at a programme organised at the Music and Dance Centre of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.— Snigdha Zaman

Bangladesh Sangskritik Parishad artistes paid tribute to the late singer Abdul Jabbar covering his inspirational songs on Wednesday at Music at Dance Centre of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.The show was organised to commemorate first death anniversary of Abdul Jabbar, a singer of the defunct Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra.He died on August 30, 2017.Abdul Jabbar had served as the president of BSP for 15 years. He inspired freedom fighters and mass people during the liberation war singing songs and helped raise funds for the government-in-exile in 1971.BSP artistes rendered songs recorded by Jabbar and presented dance recitals.In solos, Tammana Haq rendered Jibon o adhare peyechi tahare, MA Taher sang Ek buk jala nie bondhu tumi, Mousumi rendered Pitch dhala ei poth take, Meherun Ashraf sang Sudhu gaan geyei porichoy, Muktar rendered Pran sojoni kate na din rojoni, Z M Zakir Hossain sang Joy bangla banglar joy and Faruk rendered Shotru tumi bondhu tumi.BSP dancers presented two dance recitals synchronised with the songs Matir golpo theke surjer lal and Karar oi louho kopat.Gazi Mazharul Anwar, Sheikh Sadi Khan, Indramohan Rajbangshi, Bangladesh Sangskrtik Parisad president Pirjada Shahiul Harun, actress Notun and Dilara Yesmin, among others, were present at the event.Abdul Jabbar was born on November 7, 1938 in Kushtia. From an early age, Jabbar took keen interest in music and his parents also encouraged him to take up music seriously. Jabbar began taking lessons in music from local music teachers like Mohammad Osman, Moksed Ali Sai and Lutful Haque.In 1958, Jabbar enlisted himself as a radio artiste, where his singing attracted eminent music director Robin Ghosh, who eventually roped Jabbar in for playback numbers.It was through playbacks, Jabbar endeared himself to thousands.Among Jabbar’s most popular playback numbers are Ore neel dariya and Tumi ki dekhechho kabhu.Besides singing playbacks, which made Jabbar a household name in the 1960s, the singer won hearts and minds of music lovers across the country through songs that he rendered during the liberation war at Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra.Abdul Jabbar received Ekushey Padak in 1980 and Independence Day Award in 1996.